Quick word from Lexy

Before we get started a quick word from your friendly neighbourhood mad lady Your game MAY APPEAR BROKEN and Loot will not sort correctly until you complete the entire guide. If you add or remove other mods before completing the guide. If you do not carefully read and follow every word of the guide. Do not deviate. Trust the guide! If you are not willing to teach yourself how to use all of the modding tools used in this guide. Or will only appear to be broken because how much this guide completely changes the game. Read each mod’s Nexus description so you know what you are installing! This guide is unlike any other guide because it has many custom patches to make hundreds of mods work together. You must be successful in following the warnings above if you want to have a properly working game.

Official Bethesda Content

Steam Overlay

The Steam Overlay is known to cause issues while playing Skyrim Special Edition it is advised to disable it; to do this perform the following:

Load Steam.

In the Tool bar at the top of the left hand side ClickSteam.

In the Dropdown menu ClickSettings.

Then in the popup box find where it says In-Game.

Uncheck Enabled the Steam overlay while in-game then click OK.

Alternatively if you would just like to disable this for Skyrim Special Edition you may:

Load Steam.

ClickLIBRARY.

On your Games list look for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Editon and Right Click.

In the Dropdown menu ClickProperties.

Then in the popup box UncheckEnable the Steam Overlay while in-game.

Configure Skyrim

Before we can actually start doing any modding, we need to setup Skyrim Special Edition first so we have a starting base to work from.

Start by opening Steam: then perform the following steps in order:

Start The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition through the Steam context menu to open the default Skyrim Special Edition launcher.

Click "Options".

Click the [Ultra] push-button.

Set "Aspect Ratio" and "Resolution" through the drop down box. Set these to the monitors optimal resolution.

Set "Antialiasing" to Off through the drop down box. This is in preparation for the ENB Install.

Set "Full Screen Mode" by making sure Windowed Mode is Unticked.

Click the [OK] button to close and save.

We have just set Skyrim Special Edition up to a base to work on. We'll tweak this when we run the BethINI tool later in the guide.

Configure The Creation Kit

Notice

If you use Windows Defender Firewall and find yourself crashing while trying to launch the Creation Kit for the very first time. Try adding an outbound rule in Windows Defender Firewall for Creation Kit

The Creation Kit is a valuable tool for Skyrim Special Edition as it allows users to create and/or edit mods. It can be used to fix and change things not possible with the other 3rd party tools. Similar to Skyrim Special Edition, the Creation Kit does not have default ini files until it is started for the first time and requires some basic setup to work properly for the purpose of this guide.

For the puroses of this guide the Creation kit will be required for proper mod conversion.

Mod notes: A small application to assist Merge Plugins Standalone with a few special functions in scripts and LODGen files.

[SSEEDIT]

Notice

SSEEdit will create a Cache Folder which will be found in Mod Organizer 2 overwrite I recommend creating a mod out of this and having it active in the left pane this will help speed up SSEEdit load times.

Special Installation Instructions: Once installed run xEdit perform the following

Load xEdit
Right Click on any plugin
From the popup menu navigate to Other than Left click on Options a new popup box should appear
Uncheck Simple Records LAND, NAVI, NAVM, CELL, WRLD (requires restart)
Click OK
Exit xEdit.

Mod notes: This program is an essential Tool that will help with cleaning mods of dirty edit and enable to creation of patches required by this guide.

Special Installation: Manually extract the Mopy folder from Wrye Bash and install it to the main Skyrim Special Edition directory. Windows 7 users also need to create a Docs Folder in Skyrim Special Edition\Data. .

Mod notes: The function of this tool is to manage mods and create Bashed Patches. Bashed Patches merge the levelled lists from the installed mods and has some limited functionality to merge mods and tweak game values. For the purposes of this guide, only the Bashed Patch functionality will be used.

Mod Notes: this Tool is required for Mod Organizer 2 to function properly

Mod Manager

Notice

The paid for version of ccleaner is known to break Mod Organizer 2's Virtual Filing System (VFS). Unchecking the 'windows event logs' option under ccleaner's advanced tab will help ensure this doesn't happen. Also make sure the Profile Folder Remains in the same location of Mod Organizer 2 as all the base files otherwise Relinker could break

[Mod Organizer 2]

Mod notes: This is the tool we'll actually be using to download, install and manage the mods. Don't worry if it looks daunting, we'll set you right shortly.

Installing Mod Organizer 2

Warning: MO2 MUST BE INSTALLED IN PORTABLE MODE NO IF OR BUTS OTHERWISE RELINKER WON'T WORK PROPERLY

Once Mod Organizer 2 is downloaded some manual setup is required suggest watching this to familiarize yourself installation procedure (Skip to 10:27):

Create a new folder called Mod Organizer 2 - Lexys LOTD SE (or something you would Recognize easily) in the Root of a Drive (so you have some like E:\Mod Organizer 2 - Lexys LOTD SE).

Extract the contents of the downloaded Zip file to the folder created in Step 1

Run ModOrganizer.exe

A popup box should appear, asking you to "choose an Instance" pick Portable

A 2nd popup should appear; from the drop-down menu pick Skyrim Special Edition

A 3rd popup should appear asking if you want to see the tutorial. Those who are new to Mod Organizer 2 should select Yes. Those who are very familiar with it should Select No.

A 4th popup should appear stating that 'Mod Organizer is not set up to handle nxm links. Associate it with nxm links?' The recommended response is Yes, as this will allow Mod Organizer 2 to handle Nexus file links.

Congratulations Mod Organizer 2 is installed. Now we need to configure it properly.

Configuring Mod Organizer 2

Under the Nexus tab make sure the Automatically login to Nexus is Ticked

Input your Nexus User Name and Password.

Click OK

Notice

If you're installing onto a smaller SSD for example and are short for space consider changing your Downloads location to a larger hard drive. To do this, make a folder on the hard drive named 'Skyrim Mod Downloads' or similar. Then on the [Path] tab of MO2 click the box labelled "Downloads" and point the Downloads directory option to the folder you just made. I suggest not changing any of the other "Paths".

Congratulations Mod Organizer 2 should be properly configured. Next, we need to set up a base profile.

Mod Organizer 2: Base Profile Creation

Now the Mod Organizer 2 is installed and configured correctly, we need to create a Base Profile to work from.

Click the [Configure Profiles] button at the top of the window. The icon looks like an id card.

Click [Create] and type "Vanilla Skyrim SE" in the text box.

Verify that"Default Game Settings" is unchecked then click [OK]. The "Vanilla Skyrim SE" profile will appear in the list.

Exit from the Configure Profiles window and change to the newly create Profile.

Verify that"Vanilla Skyrim SE"</span> is the currently selected profile in the "Profile" drop-down above the left-pane of the Mod Organizer window.

Setting up Base Tools for Mod Organizer 2

Now to setup the tool's UI and other such settings. Follow the steps below

Notice

Some extenders and tools such as SKSE, Skyrim, Skyrim Launcher, LOOT and the Creation Kit should appear already configured in the list that will pop up. To configure the remaining tools, perform the following:

Click the "Profile" [Executables] button at the top of the main Mod Organizer window. The icon looks like a pair of cogs.

In the "Title" text box type "SSEEdit".

In the "Binary" text box type <SSEEdit Path>\SSEEdit.exe or select it using windows explorer by pressing the [...] button.

Do not select any of the optional check boxes.

Click the [Add] button. SSEEdit should appear in the list.

Repeat this process for Merge Plugins, Wrye Bash, Mator Smash and zEdit replacing the appropriate fields then close the dialogue by clicking [Close].

Notice

What this step has done is added the tools you'll use as part of the modding process as executables that can be run through Mod Organizer. Most of the tools we'll use will need to be run through Mod Organizer to work correctly. This is so the tools can 'see' the virtual file system Mod Organizer sets up.

Next we'll fix the default left pane order, which is scrambled from how it should look. Drag and drop the files in the left pane until they look like this:

* Dawnguard
* HearthFires
* Dragonborn

We now need to run LOOT to organize the right pane so it depicts the correct order also. Perform the following steps:

Select LOOT from the drop-down list of executables.

Click the [Run] button

Towards the top right-hand corner is an icon that looks like 3 horizontal lines. Mousing over it shows it's for 'Sort Plugins'. Click it.

LOOT will now download any updates to its master list file and compare the files it sees to this master list file. LOOT will display warning messages about the ITMs and deleted references the 3 Bethesda ESMs contain. Do not worry about them at this time. They will be dealt with later, in the Clean the Bethesda ESM's step.

The calculated load order is then displayed. Click 'Apply' to accept this order. If no changes are necessary there may not be an 'Apply' option as no changes are needed.

Close Loot using the Red X.

This process has loaded LOOT via Mod Organizer. This enables LOOT to act upon any and all of the .ESM and .ESP files in Mod Organizer's virtual file system. It compares what files it sees to the Master-List of all .ESM and .ESP files and suggests tweaks as required. Some files need to load before others or after others for their effects to be fully noticeable. LOOT helps this to happen. If you look at the Right pane of Mod Organizer now, you should notice that the files are in the same order that you just sorted them into on the Left pane, with Skyrim.esm and Update.esm above them. This is the correct formation.

This process has enabled the Dawnguard, Hearthfires, and Dragonborn DLCs for use in the game.

Congratulations Mod Organizer 2 Base Profile should now be properly set up. Next, we need to set up a Modding Profile.

Creating Legacy Of The Dragonborn: Special Edition Profile

We've made a Vanilla Skyrim profile. This means you can play vanilla unmodded Skyrim via Mod Organizer at a single mouse click. Now we'll make the profile with which we'll mod Skyrim. This is how we proceed:

* Click the [Configure Profiles] icon at the top of the main Mod Organizer window. The icon looks like an id card.
* Select "Vanilla Skyrim SE" then click [Copy].
* Type "Legacy Of The Dragonborn - Special Edition" in the text box and hit [OK].

A couple of points to be made here: Firstly, when you make a new profile, Mod Organizer makes new copies of Skyrim.ini and SkyrimPrefs.ini. If and when you make ini files changes, you will be making them to THESE files. Secondly, we installed the base three files of Skyrim Script Extender (SKSE) earlier, but didn't install the script files. We will do this now to show how to install a mod via Mod Organizer. Ensure you have your newly made profile active and then perform the following steps:

* Click the small screwdriver and wrench icon adjacent to the "Profile" drop-down and select "Install Mod...".
* Navigate to the downloaded SKSE archive and click [Open].
* Replace the default text, if any, in the "Name" text box with "SKSE Scripts". This is the name that will be displayed in the left pane post-installation.
* In the file tree, navigate to the "Data" folder inside the archive, right-click and select "Set Data Directory". Only the Scripts folder should be visible and checked.
* Click [OK].

The mod will now be displayed with an empty check box in the mod window. This mod is now installed but not yet enabled for use by the game. Also, note that Mod Organizer does not have a version number or category set for this mod. To resolve this, perform the following:

* Right-click the mod and select "Information...". (Alternatively, double click the mod name.)
* In the "Categories" tab, check the box next to "Utilities" to add that category to this mod.
* In the "Nexus Info" tab, set the version number to the installed SKSE version number but set the Mod ID to -1.

This has set the proper version number and category for this mod. The colour of the text also indicates that SKSE is not available on the Nexus. Look at the [File Tree] tab to see the contents of the folder that will be virtually placed inside the Skyrim/Data folder. Note the meta.ini file is shown which Mod Organizer uses to store all the related data for the mod and it will not be visible to the game when executed.

Notice

Any mods downloaded directly into Mod Organizer from the Nexus will have one or more of the data fields automatically filled based on Nexus server-provided information.

* Click [Close] to save and exit the window.

Mods version numbers that can be verified by the Nexus will be either Green(Current+) or Red(Out Of Date). To make the mod visible to the game:

* Check the box adjacent to the mod name.

The files located inside this mod folder will now be visible to any programs executed through Mod Organizer as if they were placed inside of the Skyrim/Data folder. Any conflicts are handled by Mod Organizer in priority order (higher priority overwrites lower priority). Give this a try now:

* Select "SKSE" in the drop down above the right pane then click [Run].

This will execute the game through Mod Organizer using the SKSE_Loader.exe. The Mod Organizer window will close as SKSE is automatically configured to do so. At this point, SKSE is now properly installed with all included script functionality. There is also a way to check you have SKSE loaded and working:

* When the game loads to the menu, open the console. This is usually one by pressing the key directly above the [Tab] key. It's often the ` or ~ key. This will open a small command prompt in the lower left corner. It may be hard to see but it should be there. Type the command "getskseversion" without the quotes. It should give output as to the version you have installed. If it's anything other than 2.0.12 then recheck the original SKSE install and the scripts install just performed.

Exit the game, and if needed ensure SKSE is correct again after checking install. Do not continue until you're sure SKSE is correctly installed.

We've now set up the profile we wish to install mods too. We've also set up a Vanilla Profile. Either a modded game or the vanilla game can be played just by changing the profile. Additionally, should you wish to make any other profile, you can simply copy that Vanilla Skyrim profile, rename it and start with that new profile.

Merge Plugins Hide is now set up and will move merged plugins to the optional directory within Mod Organizer 2. It can be accessed via the Puzzle icon within Mod Organizer 2.

Mod Notes: This is a Plugin for Mod Organizer 2 that allows you to hide Plugins easier after they have been merged.

Clean the Bethesda ESM's

With profiles now set up properly, it is time to begin modding some vanilla game files. To increase stability, SSEEdit will be used to clean ITMs and UDRs from Bethesda 's ESMs. This improves compatibility between the various DLCs and lessens the chance of instability in Skyrim. Perform the following:

Before we start cleaning the ESMs we need to backup the originals, navigate to Skyrim Special Edition\Data folder and backup the following:

* Update.esm
* Dawnguard.esm
* HearthFires.esm
* Dragonborn.esm

Once the original ESMs are backed up we can start the cleaning process:

* Start Mod Organizer.
* Select "SSEEdit" from the drop down above the right pane and click [Run].
* Right-click inside the file listing and select "None".
* Check the box adjacent to Update.esm and click [OK]. Wait for the message "Background Loader: finished" to appear in the right pane.
* Right-click Update.esm and select "Apply Filter For Cleaning". Wait for the message "Done: Applying Filter" to appear in the right pane.
* Right-click Update.esm and select "Remove Identical To Master Records". Wait for the message "[Removing "Identical to Master" records done]".
* Right-click Update.esm and select "Undelete and Disable References". Wait for the message "[Undeleting and Disabling References done]".
* Click the [X] on the title bar to close SSEEdit.

Update.esm has now been cleaned, meaning that any improperly removed records or edited records that were identical to the base Skyrim.esm file have been fixed.

Repeat the process above for all of the DLC ESMs in order selecting only one at a time. Do NOT attempt to clean Skyrim.esm itself.

Update.esm must also be cleaned twice to remove all duplicate records. When you cleaning Update.esm the first time, check "Backup Plugins". Do not check it the second time.

Dawnguard.esm must also be cleaned twice to remove all duplicate records. When you clean Dawnguard.esm the first time, check "Backup Plugins". Do not check it the second time.

Manual SSEEdit Cleaning For Dawnguard.esm Also Required:

Open SSEEdit and load only Dawnguard.esm
Once loaded Left click and open CELL > Block 5 > Sub-Block 3 > select 00016BCF. Scroll down the view window on the right to find XEZN subrecord referring to RiftenRatwayZone [ECZN:0009FBB9]. Right click and select Remove.
Next Left click and open CELL > Block 2 > Sub-Block 1 > select 0001FA4C. Right click and select Remove.
Last Left click and open CELL > Block 8 > Sub-Block 1. Right click and select Remove.
Click the [X] in the upper right hand corner, uncheck "Backup plugins", and click [OK].

Once you have finished the cleaning process Navigate to Mod Oraganizer 2/mods folder and create new folder called Cleaned Vanilla ESMs

Navitgate back to your Skyrim Special Edition DATA folder and Cut and Paste these files:

Update.esm

Dawnguard.esm

Hearthfires.esm

Dragonborn.esm

Into the newly created Cleaned Vanilla ESMs Inside MO2/Mods folder.

Once you have cleaned and created a mod from the Cleaned ESM' you can restore the original UNCLEANED ones backed earlier to the DATA folder.

This preserves an absolutely clean Skyrim/Data directory and also allows our modded profile to run with the modified, cleaned vanilla ESM files. To finish up the cleaning, perform the following:

* Start Mod Organizer.
* Verify the "Legacy Of The Dragonborn - Special Edition" profile is the currently selected.
* Drag the newly created mod "Cleaned Vanilla ESMs" Above the "SKSE Scripts" mods in the left pane and activate it by checking the box.

To recap the current set up:

* Running Skyrim through Steam results in a completely vanilla experience.
* Running the "Vanilla Skyrim" profile through Mod Organizer with "Skyrim" selected in the drop-down results in a completely vanilla experience.
* Running the "Legacy Of The Dragonborn - Special Edition" profile through Mod Organizer with "SKSE" selected in the drop-down results in an SKSE enabled experience using the cleaned base ESM files.

BethINI

[BethINI]

Mod notes: This program was created by DoubleYou (The S.T.E.P. resident INI Master). BethINI (pronounced "Bethany") is an attempt to restore decency to the INI configuration files for games created by Bethesda.

Recommended Setting:

Run BethINI.exe Outside of MO and make sure it is closed otherwise changes wont take effect

Mod Organizer users should go to the Setup tab within BethINI and select the profile they wish to use via the INI Path setting. Your profiles should be autodetected.

Under the Basic tab Click the DEFAULT BUTTON. This will refresh your INI files to the default settings for your system, with minimal tweaks.

Under the Basic tab Click the HIGH PRESET.

Under the Basic tab Make sure the BethINI PRESET is checked.

Under the Basic tab Make sure the Recommended Tweaks is checked.

Under the Basic Tab make sure Windowed Mode is UNCHECKED

Under the Basic Tab make sure Borderless is UNCHECKED

Under the Basic Tab make sure FXAA is CHECKED

Under the Basic tab make sure Antialiasing is set to NONE.

Under the Basic tab make sure VSync is UNCHECKED.

Under the Basic tab make sure Lock Frame Rate is UNCHECKED.

Under the General tab make sure Intro Logos is UNCHECKED.

Under the General Tab Make sure Post-Load Update Time is 2000.

Under the Gameplay Tab Make Sure Over-Encumbered Reminder is set to 60.

Under the Gameplay Tab Make Sure NPC Use Ammo is CHECKED.

Under the Gameplay Tab Make sure 1st Person Arrow Tilt-up Angle is 0.7.

Under the Gameplay Tab Make sure 3rd Person Arrow Tilt-up Angle is 0.7.

Under the Gameplay Tab Make sure 1st Person Bolt Tilt-up Angle is 0.7.

Under the Interface Tab Make sure Mouse Settings -> Lock Sensitivity is 0.0125.

Under the Detail Tab make sure Field of View is set to 85.00.

Under the Detail Tab make sure Particles is set to 2000.

Under the Detail Tab make sure Depth of Field is CHECKED.

Under the Detail Tab make sure Lens Flare is UNCHECKED.

Under the Detail Tab make sure Reflect Sky is CHECKED.

Under the Detail Tab make sure Ambient Occlusion is set toNONE.

Under the Detail Tab make sure Shadow Resolution is set to 2048.

Under the Detail Tab make sure Sun-Shadow Update Time is set to 0.

Under the Detail Tab make sure Sun-Shadow Update Threshold is set to 2.0.

Under the Detail Tab make sure Improved Shader is UNCHECKED.

Under the View Distance Tab make sure Grass Fade is set to 18000.

Under the Visuals Tab make sure Grass Density is set to 60.

Under the Visuals Tab make sure Grass Diversity is set to 15.

Under the Basic Tab Click the Save and Exit button.

Post BethINI Tweaks

SKSE.ini

The first step to editing the SKSE.ini is to create it. Perform the following:

Load NVIDIA Inspector and start NVIDIA Profile Inspector. On the Profile Inspector's tool bar there should be an icon of a box with green arrow pointing down. Hovering over the icon should display Import user defined profiles .

Once the profile have been installed, use the search bar and navigate to The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition.

Then double check the following has been set in the installed Profile: